Guest Cabin Improvement

Rustic Elegance

Oak Ome, Toyon Towers, Mountain Goat Manor, and Buffalo Billet are names that suggest the nostalgic elegance of the French Alps. On the other hand Rattlesnake Roost, Poison Ivy Penthouse, and Lizard Lodge remind our guests of rustic life on a desert island and a cabin namer with a clever knack for alliteration.

In 1951 Paul Byer designed and USC/UCLA students built seven open air sleeping cabins. (Lizard Lodge has been remodeled and is now staff housing for some of the single guys). During the first thirty years of our history, Campus by the Sea was primarily used during the warmer summer months. Paul, who was an architectural student at USC at the time, initially created a three sided sleeping porch. His wife Marilyn protested that no woman would feel comfortable with such an arrangement, so Paul wisely added a fourth wall. Sixty three years later, the simple design still stands, having survived termites, floods, and countless junior high students. Along the way some of the cabins were modified to add a center partition that created two family units.

Cabin Improvements

Our family camp events have become extremely popular. We would like to enhance the guest experience by improving our cabins in the following ways:

· Add windows and skylights to the six open air cabins.

· Create a solid wall between the two units in the cabins.

· Install a separate entrance door in to each unit of the cabins.

· Provide a new double mattress for EVERY guest cabin in camp.

Project Details and Cost

The projected cost for these improvements is $143,000. We plan to begin work on the project in the winter of 2015 and have the upgrades ready for the 2015 Family Camp Season. If you would like to contribute to this important effort, go to our donate page or cantact Dave Noble-Camp Director.